TMSJ 7/2 (Fall 1996) 183-212

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THE MILLENNIAL POSITION OF SPURGEON

Dennis M. Swanson

Seminary Librarian

The notoriety of Charles Haddon Spurgeon has caused many since his

time to claim him as a supporter of their individual views regarding the

millennium. Spurgeon and his contemporaries were familiar with the four

current millennial views—amillennialism, postmillennialism, historic

premillennialism, and dispensational premillennialism—though the earlier

nomenclature may have differed. Spurgeon did not preach or write

extensively on prophetic themes, but in his sermons and writings he did say

enough to produce a clear picture of his position. Despite claims to the

contrary, his position was most closely identifiable with that of historic

premillennialism in teaching the church would experience the tribulation, the

millennial kingdom would be the culmination of God's program for the

church, a thousand years would separate the resurrection of the just from that

of the unjust, and the Jews in the kingdom would be part of the one people of

God with the church.

* * * * *

In the last hundred years eschatology has probably been the

subject of more writings than any other aspect of systematic theology.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-92) did not specialize in eschatology,

but supporters of almost every eschatological position have appealed

to him as an authority to support their views.

Given Spurgeon's notoriety, the volume of his writings, and his

theological acumen, those appeals are not surprising. A sampling of

conclusions will illustrate this point. Lewis A. Drummond states,

"Spurgeon confessed to be a pre-millennialist."

Peter Masters, current

Lewis A. Drummond,

Spurgeon: Prince of Preachers

(Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1993)

650.

184

pastor of Spurgeon's church, The Metropolitan Tabernacle in London,

stated, "Spurgeon . . . would have stood much closer to amillennialism

than to either of the other scenarios recognized today"

Erroll Hulse

firmly declared Spurgeon to be postmillennial.

Peter Masters, "Spurgeon's Eschatology,"

The Sword and Trowel

(December

1989):39.

Erroll Hulse,

The Restoration of Israel

(London: Henry E. Walter Ltd., 1968) 154.

Some in the "Theonomist" movement (which holds postmillennialism as a

cornerstone of its system) in their writings have implied that Spurgeon was postmil-

lennial. See Gary DeMar and Peter Leithart,

The Reduction of Christianity

(Tyler,

Texas: Dominion, 1988) 41.

Spurgeon could not have held all these positions. However, in

which, if any, did he fit? The issue is an important one, as Spurgeon

continues to be one of the most popular Christian authors in print,

even a century after his death. Men of different positions seek to

marshal support for their prophetic interpretations by appealing to

Spurgeon.

This article will probe Spurgeon's view on the millennium by a

careful examination of his writings in the light of his own times.

Hopefully, it will help the uninformed understand Spurgeon and his

millennial view more clearly and diminish the misinterpretation of his

works and misuse of his stature in regard to eschatology.

MILLENNIALISM IN VICTORIAN ENGLAND

The Millennial Position of Spurgeon 185

An understanding of millennial definitions of Spurgeon's time

is vital to understanding his view on the subject. Twentieth-century

definitions are important, but how his contemporaries understood

terms is essential. Furthermore, any view of the millennium depends

on one's interpretation of Revelation 20:1-6. The following discussion

will limit itself to the various millennial positions as they relate to

Spurgeon's views.

Introduction to the Millennial Understandings

Historically, examinations of Revelation 20 have resulted in

four millennial views, designated by the prefixes "a-," "post-," "pre-,"

and "historic pre-." These refer to not only the timing of Christ's return

to commence His millennial reign, but perhaps more important, the

essential nature of that kingdom.

Briefly, the following are common understandings of the four

millennial positions:

(1)The amillennial position believes there will be no physical

kingdom on earth. "Amillennialists believe that the kingdom

of God is now present in the world as the victorious Christ

rules his church through the Word and Spirit. They feel that

the future, glorious, and perfect kingdom refers to the new

earth and life in heaven."

(2)The postmillennial position teaches that there will be an

extended period of peace, prosperity, and a godly world

brought about by "Christian preaching and teaching."

This

millennium will see the nearly universal rule of the church

and Christian principles in force in the world and will finally

culminate with the return of Christ, and the translation into

the eternal state.

The premillennial position divides into two distinct camps:

For a detailed survey of interpretational options for Rev. 20:1-10, see Robert L.

Thomas,

Revelation 8-22: An Exegetical Commentary

(Chicago: Moody, 1995) 403 ff.

Robert G. Clouse, "Views of the Millennium,"

Dictionary of Evangelical Theology,

Walter Elwell, ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1984) 714-18.

Ibid., 715.

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(3)The historic or covenantal premillennial view advocates a

thousand-year kingdom on earth in which Christ will

personally reign, having returned to the earth to establish his

rule "suddenly through supernatural methods rather than

gradually over a long period of time."

In this approach the

kingdom is essentially the culmination of the church age.

(4)The dispensational premillennialist approach is similar, but the

essential nature of the kingdom is quite different. For the

dispensationalist, the thousand-year kingdom is the

culmination and final fulfillment of God's promises to Israel,

not the culmination of the church age. The kingdom over

which Christ personally rules is the Davidic Kingdom of

Israel's Messiah.

Millennial Approaches in Spurgeon's Day: An Overview

Christendom in Victorian England undoubtedly embraced all

four millennial positions. In 1878 Nathaniel West, presenting a

chronicle of the history of premillennialism, identified three strains of

millennial thought:

Thus does pre-millennialism become a protest against the doctrine of

unbroken evolution of the Kingdom of God to absolute perfection on

earth, apart from the miraculous intervention of Christ [i.e., postmillen-

nialism]. And equally is it a protest against that vapid idealism which

violates the perfect kingdom into a spiritual abstraction, apart from the

regenesis of the earth [i.e. amillennialism]. It asserts that the literal is

always the last and highest fulfillment of prophecy.

In addition, John Whitcomb points out,

Ibid.

Nathaniel West, "History of the Pre-Millennial Doctrine," in

Premillennial Essays of

the Prophetic Conference held in the Church of the Holy Trinity

, Nathaniel West, ed.

(reprint of Fleming H. Revell 1879 ed., Minneapolis: Bryant Baptist, 1981) 315. This

conference convened in the United States, but one presenter (Dr. W. P. Mackay) and

several other participants were from England. Spurgeon was most probably aware of

the positions and perhaps the conference.

The Millennial Position of Spurgeon 187

Even in Spurgeon's day . . . Henry Alford (1810-71), the dean of

Canterbury, in his monumental four-volume edition of the Greek New

Testament, insisted that the thousand-year reign of Christ following His

second coming as described in Revelation 20 be understood literally.

What could be identified as amillennialism represented the

official positions the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of

England, although there was latitude within Anglicanism for a wide

spectrum on eschatological views. Outside of the established church

the influential non-conformist theologian Philip Doddridge (1702-51),

"rejected the very notion of a millennium."

The Congregational

theologian, Josiah Conder wrote in 1838 that any view of a literal

millennial kingdom was "aberrational."

In England "the postmillennial theory was evidently wide-

spread."

William Carey and Thomas Chalmers helped spread this

view. Postmillennialism was the dominant view in America from the

Puritan era to the early 1900's, and was also well-established in

England. A seminal work delineating postmillennialism was David

Brown's

Christ's Second Coming: Will it be Premillennial?

(1846), a work

that became the classic presentation of postmillennial eschatology in

England. The volume remains a standard reference piece to this day.

Dispensationalism, still being formulated in Spurgeon's time,

predated Spurgeon's ministry by a few decades. John Nelson Darby

and the "Brethren" were very influential and began spreading their

system by the late 1830's. Bebbington states,

Although never the unanimous view among Brethren, dispensational-

ism spread beyond their ranks and gradually became the most popular

John C. Whitcomb, "C. H. Spurgeon, Biblical Inerrancy, and Premillennialism,"

Grace Theological Journal

7/2 (Fall 1986):233.

David Bebbington,

Evangelicalism in Modern Britain: A History from the 1730’s to

the 1980's

(Grand Rapids: Baker, 1989) 62.

Josiah Conder,

An Analytical and Comparative View of All Religions

(London:

SPCK, 1838) 584-92.

Bebbington,

Evangelicalism in Modern Britain

62.

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version of futurism. In the nineteenth century it remained a

minority

version among premillennialists

, but this intense form of apocalyptic

expectation was to achieve much greater salience in the twentieth.

Bebbington goes on to state that the 1830's and 1840's saw the

emergence of two schools of thought in premillennialism, the

"historicist" and the "futurist."

The "historicist" most closely

identified with the historic/covenantal premillennial position and the

"futurist" with the dispensational premillennialist.

Since the

dispensational view was a "minority version among premillennialists,"

the historicist view was the dominant premillennial option in the

nineteenth century.

Spurgeon was familiar with various millennial opinions. In his

Commenting and Commentaries

, he identified interpretations of the Book

of Revelation and their main proponents. He divided them into four

groups: (1) preterist, (2) continuists, (3) simple futurists, and (4)

extreme futurists.

This clear discussion by Spurgeon, combined with his own

admission that he was well-read in the prophetic literature of the

day,

shows his capability of interacting with the spectrum of millen-

nial thought.

Spurgeon's Statements on Eschatology

Spurgeon's preaching did not often focus on eschatology. He

paid little attention to the idea of using prophecy as an evangelistic

tool. His statement, "A prophetical preacher enlarged so much on `the

little horn' of Daniel, that one Sabbath morning he had but seven

Bebbington,

Evangelicalism in Modern Britain

86 [emphasis added].

Ibid., 85.

Ibid., 85-86.

Charles H. Spurgeon,

Commenting and Commentaries

(reprint of 1876 Passmore

and Alabaster ed., Carlisle, Pa.: Banner of Truth, 1969) 198.

G. Holden Pike,

The Life and Work of Charles Haddon Spurgeon

(reprint of 1894

Cassell & Company ed., Carlisle, Pa.: Banner of Truth, 1991) 4:133.

The Millennial Position of Spurgeon 189

hearers remaining,"

shows he saw no value in extended preaching on

prophetic themes. He taught that one's chief concern in preaching

should not be prophetical speculations, but the gospel message and

practical godliness:

Salvation is a theme for which I would fain enlist every holy tongue. I

am greedy after witnesses for the glorious gospel of the blessed God. O

that Christ crucified were the universal burden of men of God. Your

guess at the number of the beast, your Napoleonic speculations, your

conjectures concerning a personal Antichrist—forgive me, I count them

but mere bones for dogs.

Nonetheless, Spurgeon could claim with the Apostle Paul that

he "did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God"

(Acts 20:27). His own testimony on this matter is sufficient:

You will bear me witness, my friends, that it is exceedingly seldom I

ever intrude into the mysteries of the future with regard either to the

second advent, the millennial reign, or the first and second resurrection.

As often as we come about it in our expositions, we do not turn aside

from the point, but if guilty at all on this point, it is rather in being too

silent than saying too much.

It is clear that even if Spurgeon's statement on matters of "the

second advent, the millennial reign, or the first and second

resurrection" were infrequent, they were not imprecise. Spurgeon

understood all the features of eschatology presented in Scripture,

although he did not devote much time to their chronological

arrangement. On September 18, 1876, he presented to the

Metropolitan Tabernacle congregation this overview of eschatological

events:

It is also certain that the Jews, as a people, will yet own Jesus of

Charles H. Spurgeon,

Lectures to My Students

, 4 vols. in 1 (reprint of 1881 1st

series ed. of Passmore & Alabaster, Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim, 1990) 1:100.

Ibid., 1:83.

Spurgeon, "The First Resurrection," in

The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit

7:345.

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Nazareth, the Son of David, as their King, and that they will return to

their own land. . . . It is certain also that our Lord Jesus Christ will come

again to this earth, and that he will reign amongst his ancients

gloriously, and that there will be a thousand years of joy and peace such

as were never known on this earth before. It is also certain that there

will be a great and general judgment, when all nations shall be gathered

before the Son of man sitting upon the throne of his glory; and his final

award concerning those upon his left hand will be. . . . How all these

great events are to be chronologically arranged, I cannot tell.

The tendency of Spurgeon to reject tightly knit chronological

sequences remained with him his entire life. Drummond points out

that Spurgeon "refused to spend an inordinate amount of time

discussing, for example, the relationship of the rapture to the

tribulation period, or like points of eschatological nuance."

Eschatology was secondary with him, a valuable endeavor, but one

that he felt should never "overlay the commonplaces of practical

godliness,"

or come before "first you see to it that your children are

brought to the saviour's feet."

Spurgeon's Sermons

The primary outlet for Spurgeon's theology was, of course, his

preaching. His preaching style was normally a topical or textual

approach, yet he still worked diligently at exegesis. One visitor to his

study remarked, "I was at first surprised to find Mr. Spurgeon

consulting both the Hebrew and Greek texts. . . . His exegesis was

seldom wrong. He spared no pains to be sure of the exact meaning of

his text."

Spurgeon, "The Harvest and the Vintage," in

The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit

50:553-54.

Drummond,

Spurgeon: Prince of Preachers

650.

Spurgeon, "The Ascension and Second Advent Practically Considered," in

Spurgeon's Expository Encyclopedia

4:442.

Ibid.

Spurgeon,

Autobiography

(Carlisle, Pa.: Banner of Truth, 1976) 2:346.

The Millennial Position of Spurgeon 191

The second coming of Christ

. The feature that Spurgeon identified

as a foundational eschatological issue was "The Second Advent of

Christ." That Spurgeon believed in the personal and literal return of

Christ to the earth is an indisputable fact. He looked forward to this

great event with anticipation and announced it to his congregation

with regularity:

We know that Christ was really, personally, and physically here on

earth. But it is not quite so clear to some persons that he is to come,

really, personally, and literally the second time. . . . Now, we believe

that the Christ who shall sit on the throne of his father David, and

whose feet shall stand upon Mount Olivet, is as much a personal Christ

as the Christ who came to Bethlehem and wept in the manger.

Certainly there can be no doubt about Spurgeon's belief in the literal

and physical return of Christ. However, what were his views on the

millennial reign?

The millennial reign of Christ

. On the theme of millennial reign of

Christ, Spurgeon was far from silent. Though he did not give a great

deal of attention to it, when he did, his view was consistent. In 1865 he

stated,

Some think that this descent of the Lord will be post-millennial—that is,

after the thousand years of his reign. I cannot think so. I conceive that

the advent will be pre-millennial; that he will come first; and

then will

come the millennium as the result of his personal reign upon earth

This comment not only clarifies Spurgeon's position on the subject, but

also shows his familiarity with other millennial positions and their key

Spurgeon, "The Two Advents of Christ," in

The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit

8:39.

For other sermons with a similar theme, see "Things to Come," in

The Metropolitan

Tabernacle Pulpit

15:329; "To-Morrow," in

The New Park Street Pulpit

2:237; and "The

Ascension and The Second Advent Practically Considered," in

The Metropolitan

Tabernacle Pulpit

31:23.

Spurgeon, "Justification and Glory," in

The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit

11:249

[emphasis added].

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features. In another sermon he made the following oft-quoted remark

regarding the millennial reign:

We are looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the

great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. "Even so, come, Lord Jesus" is

the desire of every instructed saint. I shall not go into any details about

when he will come: I will not espouse the cause of the pre-millennial or

the post-millennial advent; it will suffice me just now to observe that the

Redeemer's coming is the desire of the entire church.

Iain Murray cites Spurgeon's disclaimer of not espousing the cause of

two different millennial positions as an example of Spurgeon

admitting "a fundamental uncertainty in his mind."

However, it

seems better to understand that Spurgeon was simply declining to

elaborate on millennial views in this particular sermon.

Also, he did not think the millennium on earth was to be

identified with the eternal existence in heaven. He clearly made a

distinction between the two. Beginning a sermon on the text, "Throne

of God and of the Lamb shall be in it" (Rev 22:3), he stated, "We shall

take these words as referring to heaven. Certainly it is most true of the

celestial city,

as well as of the millennial city

, that the throne of God and

of the Lamb shall be in it."

Regarding the nature and location of the

millennial reign he said,

There is, moreover, to be a reign of Christ. I cannot read the Scriptures

without perceiving that there is to be a millennial reign, as I believe,

upon the earth, and that there shall be new heavens and new earth

wherein dwell righteousness.

Discussing the relation of the timing of the return of Christ to

Spurgeon, "The Double Come," in

The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit

27:390-91.

Iain H. Murray,

The Puritan Hope: Revival and the Interpretation of Prophecy

(Carlisle, Pa.: Banner of Truth, 1971) 263.

Spurgeon, "The Throne of God and of the Lamb," in

Spurgeon's Expository

Encyclopedia

8:409 [emphasis added].

Spurgeon, "For Ever with the Lord," in

The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit

23:522.

The Millennial Position of Spurgeon 193

the millennium and the necessity of its commencing that millennium,

he rejected a postmillennial position:

Paul does not paint the future with rose-colour: he is no smooth-

tongued prophet of a golden age, into which this dull earth may be

imagined to be glowing. There are sanguine brethren who are looking

forward to everything growing better and better and better, until, at the

last this present age ripens into a millennium. They will not be able to

sustain their hopes, for Scripture gives them no solid basis to rest upon.

We who believe that there will be no millennial reign without the King,

and who expect no rule of righteousness except from the appearing of

the righteous Lord, are nearer the mark. Apart from the second Advent

of our Lord, the world is more likely to sink into pandemonium than to

rise into a millennium. A divine interposition seems to me the hope set

before us in Scripture, and, indeed, to be the only hope adequate to the

situation. We look to the darkening down of things; the state of

mankind, however improved politically, may yet grow worse and worse

spiritually.

He rejected any notion, however well-intended, that apart from the

personal intervention of Christ a millennium would be possible. He

called preachers who held to a postmillennial system those who "do

not understand the prophecies"

and asserted that "the great hope of

the future is the coming of the Son of man."

Thus it is clear that Spurgeon believed in an earthly millennium

founded on and preceded by the Second Advent of Christ.

The resurrection of the dead

. A third area of Spurgeon's eschato-

logical interest lay in the resurrections of the just and the wicked.

Throughout his ministry he taught separate resurrections of the just

and unjust. The discussion above has cited his distinction between

Spurgeon, "The Form of Godliness without the Power," in

The Metropolitan

Tabernacle Pulpit

35:301.

Spurgeon, "Jesus Only: A Communion Meditation," in

The Metropolitan

Tabernacle Pulpit

45:374.

Ibid.

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"the first and second resurrection."

That he believed in a literal and

physical resurrection is undeniable:

Yet this Paul believed, and this he preached—that there would be a

resurrection of the dead, both the just and the unjust, not that the just

and the unjust would merely live as to their souls, but that their bodies

should be restored from the grave, and that a resurrection, as well as an

immortality, should be the entail of every man of woman born,

whatever his character might be.

In the same sermon Spurgeon declared the resurrections would be

distinct, separated by a period of time: "Notice that this reaping comes

first, and I think it comes first in order of time. If I read the Scriptures

aright, there are to be two resurrections, and the first will be the

resurrection of the righteous."

Interestingly and in keeping with his avoidance of prophetic

preaching, he only preached two sermons in his entire ministry with a

primary text in Revelation 20, admittedly the key passage on the

millennium. He preached on Revelation 20:4-6, 12 (skipping over

verses one might have wished him to comment upon) in an 1861

sermon and Revelation 20:11 in 1866. He also never preached from

any portion of Daniel 12 and the interpretation of the first two verses.

Despite this, he firmly declared his belief that the thousand-year

millennial reign would separate the two resurrections. In 1861 he told

his congregation this:

I think that the Word of God teaches, and teaches indisputably, that the

saints shall rise first. And be the interval of time whatever it may,

whether the thousand years are literal years, or a very long period of

time, I am not now about to determine; I have nothing to do except with

the fact that there are two resurrections, a resurrection of the just, and

afterwards of the unjust,—a time when the saints of God shall rise, and

Spurgeon, "The First Resurrection" 7:345.

Spurgeon, "Resurrection for the Just and the Unjust,"

Spurgeon's Expository

Encyclopedia

13:241.

Ibid., 13:358; cf. also, "Things to Come,"

The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit

15:329.

The Millennial Position of Spurgeon 195

after time when the wicked shall rise to the resurrection of damnation.

In the same sermon he expressed his belief that both

resurrections are literal and physical. He attacked the position of the

famous American Presbyterian, Albert Barnes (1798-1870), an

amillennialist,

who rejected the literal resurrection spoken of in

Revelation 20:4-6, 12. He charged Barnes with holding a position that

spiritualized the resurrection. In concluding his argument against

Barnes, he said,

Now I appeal to you, would you, in reading that passage, think this to

be the meaning? Would any man believe that to be its meaning, if he

had not some thesis to defend? The fact is, we sometimes read

Scripture, thinking of what it ought to say, rather that what it does say. .

. . It is—we have no doubt whatever—a literal resurrection of the saints

of God, and not of principles nor of doctrines.

Spurgeon's comments on the two resurrections, separated by the

millennium, are not as Murray concludes, "far from common in his

sermons,"

but a normal and consistently expounded theme, when the

text suggested that topic:

Now we believe and hold that Christ shall come a second time

suddenly, to raise his saints at the first resurrection; this shall be the

commencement of the grand judgment, and they shall reign with him

afterwards.

The rest of the dead live not till the thousand years are finished.

Then they shall rise from their tombs and they shall receive the deeds

which they have done in the body.

Spurgeon, "The First Resurrection" 7:346. The statement about "not now about to

determine" seems to be idiomatic of Spurgeon to refer to his unwillingness to

expound on a "bunny-trail" in the context of his sermon.

James E. Rosscup,

Commentaries for Biblical Expositors

(Sun Valley, Calif.: Grace

Book Shack, 1993) 22.

Spurgeon, "The First Resurrection" 7:346.

Murray,

The Puritan Hope

259.

Spurgeon, "The Two Advents of Christ" 8:39 [emphasis added].

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Spurgeon's view on the future of Israel as a people and as a

nation deserves attention. At a special meeting at The Metropolitan

Tabernacle on June 16, 1864, Spurgeon preached on "The Restoration

and Conversion of the Jews," on behalf of the British Society for the

Propagation of the Gospel amongst the Jews. In this sermon he laid

out several important statements about the future of the Jewish

people. First of all, he believed that the Jews would physically and

literally return to inhabit and have political control over their ancient

land. He explained,

There will be a native government again; there will again be the form of

a body politic; a state shall be incorporated, and a king shall reign. Israel

has now become alienated from her own land. . . . If there be anything

clear and plain, the literal sense and meaning of this passage [Ezekiel

37:1-10]—a meaning not to be spirited or spiritualized away—must be

evident that both the two and the ten tribes of Israel are to be restored to

their own land, and that a king is to rule over them.

He also believed that the conversion of the Jews would come through

Christian preaching by means of the church and other societies and

mission agencies that God would raise up for that task.

Spurgeon's Commentaries and Other Works

In the course of his long preaching and literary career,

Spurgeon wrote only two works that were, strictly speaking,

commentaries. The primary one was his monumental work on the

Psalms,

The Treasury of David

. Spurgeon spent nearly fifteen years

completing the seven volumes which he and his closest associates

considered his

magnum opus

It was his only thoroughly expository

Spurgeon, "The Restoration and Conversion of the Jews," in

The Metropolitan

Tabernacle Pulpit

10:426.

Ibid., 430-36.

Charles H. Spurgeon,

C. H. Spurgeon's Autobiography: Compiled from His Diary,

Letters and Records by His Wife and Private Secretary

(reprint of 1897 Passmore and

Alabaster ed., Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim, 1992) 3:305.

The Millennial Position of Spurgeon 197

work and has remained in print without interruption since his death.

In the

Treasury

, as in most of Spurgeon's works, he sees

references to Israel in the Psalms as being the church. He does touch

on eschatology several times within this work. One is his comment on

Psalm 14:7 where he wrote, "The coming of Messiah was the desire of

the godly in all ages. . . . His glorious advent will restore his ancient

people from literal captivity, and his spiritual seed from spiritual

sorrow."

Commenting on Psalm 2:5-6 Spurgeon wrote, "His unsuffering

kingdom yet shall come when he shall take unto himself his great

power, and reign from

the river unto the ends of the earth

Commenting on Psalm 45:16 his words were, "The whole earth shall

yet be subdued for Christ, and honoured are they, who shall, through

grace, have a share in the conquest—these shall reign with Christ at

His Coming."

He comments decisively on the nature of Jesus'

millennial reign in Psalm 72:8:

Wide spread shall be the rule of Messiah; only Land's End shall end his

territory: to the Ultima Thule shall his scepter be extended. From

Pacific to Atlantic, and from Atlantic to Pacific, he shall be. . . . In this

Psalm, at least, we see a personal monarch, and he is the central figure,

the focus of all glory; not his servant, but himself do we see possessing

the dominion and dispensing the government.

Spurgeon sees specifically a personal reign of Christ over nations on

earth. Commenting further on this Psalm, he discussed the political

nature of Christ's reign on earth. He believed that nations would exist

in the millennium with their own kings and leaders, but that all would

be subject to Christ and His government in Jerusalem. He also saw

Christ's personal reign as a certain, but future event: "But since we see

Charles H. Spurgeon,

The Treasury of David: An Expositional and Devotional

Commentary on the Psalms

, 7 vols. (reprint of 1870-1884 Passmore and Alabaster ed.,

Grand Rapids: Baker, 1977) 1:183.

Ibid., 1:13 [emphasis added].

Ibid., 2:359.

Ibid., 3:319.

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Jesus crowned with glory and honour in heaven, we are altogether

without doubt as to his universal monarchy on earth."

The Treasury of David

as is in his sermons, Spurgeon is clear

and concise in his statements regarding the millennium. Those state-

ments were perhaps not as frequent as in some other commentators,

but they are thoroughly consistent with his sermons and other

writings.

Spurgeon's only other commentary was also his final book,

Matthew: The Gospel of the Kingdom

, completed only days before his

death. Spurgeon himself completed only the first draft and the

notations. His wife Susannah put it into its final form. He commented

as follows on Matthew 24: "Our Lord appears to have purposely

mingled the prophecies concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and

his own second coming."

Spurgeon understood most of the

prophecies to refer to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. In

Matthew 24:15-21 he called the abomination of desolation "the Roman

ensigns with their idolatrous emblems."

Spurgeon saw none of the prophecies of Matthew as direct

predictions of the period just before Christ's return, but saw in the

destruction of Jerusalem a time typical of that period.

Another relevant work by Spurgeon was his

Commenting and

Commentaries

, produced as the fourth in the series of

Lectures to My

Students

. His comments were brief and often "tongue in cheek," but do

reveal some features of his prophetic views. Regarding a certain R.

Amner's commentary on Daniel, Spurgeon said it was built "on the

absurd hypothesis that the prophecies were all fulfilled before the

death of Antiochus Epiphanes."

About I. R. Park's work on

Zechariah, he wrote, "This author explains the prophecy spiritually

and asserts that `the spiritual is the most literal interpretation.' We

Ibid., 3:320.

Charles H. Spurgeon,

Matthew: The Gospel of the Kingdom

(reprint of 1893

Passmore and Alabaster ed., Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim, 1974) 217.

Ibid., 215.

Spurgeon,

Lectures (Commenting and Commentaries)

4:126.

The Millennial Position of Spurgeon 199

more than doubt it."

In discussing commentaries on Revelation, he

calls the premillennial work of E. B. Elliott's

Horae Apocalypticae

"the

standard work on the subject."

During his lifetime Spurgeon amassed one of the largest and

finest biblical and theological libraries of his day. He had read at least

major parts of all of the volumes, had both the contents and locations

of the books in his collection memorized! His vast resources and his

almost insatiable reading habits enabled him to expose himself to the

various interpretations of prophecy and the Book of Revelation in

general and Revelation 20 and the millennium in particular. He kept

up-to-date on current theological trends and new interpretations and

was able to interact with them. In fact it was his theological acumen

and "watchman on the wall" mentality that enabled him to foresee the

theological decline that would lead to the "Downgrade Controversy,"

the event which led to the formulation of his famous "Statement of

Faith."

Spurgeon's Statement of Faith

At the height of the Down-Grade Controversy

Spurgeon and

several others created and signed a statement of faith to state the

doctrines that distinguished them from those in the Baptist Union who

were on the "down grade." In 1891

The Sword and Trowel

published the

statement, nearly half of which dealt with the inspiration and

authority of the Scriptures. It closed with the final point: "Our hope is

Ibid., 4:139.

Ibid., 4:199. Elliott followed a continuous-historical interpretation of Revelation

and was premillennial.

In brief, this was the controversy that led Spurgeon to resign from the Baptist

Union. For further information on the controversy see Bob Ross,

The Down-Grade

Controversy: Collected Materials which Reveal the Viewpoint of the late Charles H. Spurgeon

(Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publishing, n.d.); Iain Murray,

The Forgotten Spurgeon

(Carlisle, Pa.: Banner of Truth, 1966); John F. MacArthur Jr.,

Ashamed of the Gospel,

When the Church Becomes like the World

(Waco, Texas: Word, 1993) 197-225;

particularly J. C. Carlile,

C. H. Spurgeon: An Interpretative Biography

(London:

Religious Tract Society, 1933).

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the Personal Pre-Millennial Return of the Lord Jesus in Glory."

In discussing this Confession and its signatories, C. W. H.

Griffiths maintained, "It is clearly to the point to ask what these men

understood by pre-millennial."

He presented clear information that

the signatories of this document were "powerful contenders for what

we would understand as pre-millennialism."

Peter Masters dismissed the importance of the "Manifesto," as it

was called, contending that their definition of "premillennialism was

considerably broader than it is today."

However, as Erickson points

out, the confusion of millennial positions was not between the

amillennial and premillennial views, but rather over the fact that

"amillennialism has often been difficult to distinguish from

postmillennialism."

This statement of faith is among the strongest

sources for identifying Spurgeon as a premillennialist, with even Iain

Murray citing it as substantial proof.

SPURGEON AND MILLENNIAL OPTIONS

With Spurgeon's material as proof of his premillennialism, it

remains to examine the arguments of those who have identified his

position otherwise or define what type of premillennialism he held.

Spurgeon and Amillennialism

Amillennialism rejects any earthly and physical "millennium,"

"Mr. Spurgeon's Confession of Faith," in

The Sword and Trowel

26 (August

1891):446-48.

C. W. H. Griffiths, "Spurgeon's Eschatology," in

Watching and Waiting

23/15 (July-

September 1990):227.

Ibid.

Masters, "Spurgeon's Eschatology" 28.

Millard J. Erickson,

Contemporary Options in Eschatology

(Grand Rapids: Baker,

1977) 74.

Murray,

Puritan Hope

257.

The Millennial Position of Spurgeon 201

instead believing that the "kingdom" is both present in the "dynamic

reign of God in human history through Jesus Christ,"

and future in

the "new heaven and new earth."

Perhaps the most significant and well-documented evaluation

of Spurgeon's eschatology that attempts to place him in the amillennial

camp has come from Peter Masters. In a 1991 article in

Sword and

Trowel

, he presents a brief critique of Iain Murray's appendix in

The

Puritan Hope

, entitled "C. H. Spurgeon's Views on Prophecy." He also

briefly notes Tom Carter's work,

Spurgeon at His Best

Masters' basic

complaint about both works is their lack of thoroughness: "The

problem with Mr. Murray's assessment is that it is based on too few of

Spurgeon's eschatological statements."

He objects to Carter's calling

Spurgeon a post-tribulation premillennialist "on the basis of three

short passages."

After criticizing the brevity of the two, Masters lays out in

chronological fashion quotations from Spurgeon's sermons ranging

over his entire ministry. He quotes nearly thirty sources and

concludes that Spurgeon "would have stood much closer to

amillennialism."

Several facets of Masters' work deserve comment. First, he

never defines the millennial views, he simply caricatures them and

often misrepresents them. In one instance, he makes a point about the

millennial reign and contrasts it to a dispensational view, saying,

According to Spurgeon, as the saints took up their everlasting abode on

the glorified earth with their savior, the millennial reign would begin.

Anthony A. Hoekema, "Amillennialism," in

The Meaning of the Millennium

, Robert

G. Clouse, ed. (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1977) 178.

Ibid.

Masters does not refer to Carter or the book by name in his article, but the work

he refers to is unmistakable.

Masters, "Spurgeon's Eschatology" 28.

Ibid.

Ibid., 39.

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This, however, would not be a millennium like that

expected by

dispensationalists. Spurgeon's millennium would not be interrupted by any

resurgence of evil

However, dispensationalists are not the only ones that foresee a

rebellion at the end of the millennium (Rev 20:7-9); historic

premillennialists do too, and even postmillenarian Charles Hodge

taught a rebellion at the end of the thousand years to be quelled by the

personal return of Christ!

Perhaps the most serious deficiency of Masters' work is the

occasional removal from Spurgeon's quotations of phrases and

sentences without any notation. Ellipses are acceptable in long

quotations when they do not alter the author's intended meaning, but

his omissions do alter the meaning.

Upon close examination of several of the quotations, there

"appears to have been a deliberate suppression of Mr. Spurgeon's

view."

Masters wrote, "Spurgeon's millennium, was, in effect simply

the

opening phase

of the eternal hereafter,

that there would not be any

resurgence of evil, and, "No unregenerate person could possibly exist

there."

However, in quoting Spurgeon's sermon, he omits a key

phrase:

The people of Israel are to be converted to God, and . . . their conversion

is to be permanent. . . . This thing shall be, and . . . both in the spiritual

and in the temporal throne, the King Messiah shall sit, and reign among

his people gloriously.

The phrase excised in the second ellipsis is "so that whatever nations

Ibid. [emphasis added]

Charles Hodge,

Systematic Theology

(reprint of 1871 Charles Scribner and Sons

ed., Grand Rapids: Eerdman's, 1949) 3:812.

Ibid.

Master’s, "Spurgeon's Eschatology" 29 [emphasis original].

Ibid.

Masters, "Spurgeon's Eschatology" 30.

The Millennial Position of Spurgeon 203

may apostatize and turn from the Lord in these days, the nation of

Israel never can."

This phrase indicates that Spurgeon did entertain

the possibility, if not the likelihood, of some type of apostasy or falling

away among the nations during the reign of Christ on earth. An

apostasy of the nations would be impossible if Spurgeon's millennium

was the eternal state.

A more overt example is Masters' careless quotation of

Spurgeon came in another 1864 sermon:

They shall not say to one another, Know the Lord: for all shall know

Him, from the least to the greatest.

The whole earth will be a temple, every day will be a Sabbath, the

avocation of all men will be priestly, they shall be a nation of priests—

distinctly so, and they shall day without night serve God in His

temple.

Here no indication of editing appears. Masters simply moves from

one paragraph to the next. He begins the sermon excerpt with a

statement that Spurgeon believed, "There would be no Jewish

worship, nor Christian ministers, and all shall know the Lord."

However, the removed sentence refutes Masters' assertion. Spurgeon

expresses the possibility of Jewish rituals in the millennial kingdom:

"There may even be in that period certain solemn assemblies and

Sabbath days, but they will not be of the same kind as we now have."

Masters deserves criticism for both his technique and his

analysis of Spurgeon's writings. He damages the credibility of his

thesis and casts great doubt on the validity of his conclusions by

carelessly handling the written evidence. Griffiths has written,

It appears that Dr. Masters has been over zealous in his attempt to

identify the character of Mr. Spurgeon's millennium with that of the a-

millennialists and that this has led to manipulation of quotations to his

Spurgeon, "The Restoration and Conversion of the Jews" 10:430.

Masters, "Spurgeon's Eschatology" 30.

Ibid.

Spurgeon, "The Lamb, The Light," in

The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit

10:439.

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own end.

In a point by point comparison, Spurgeon's teachings simply do

not match typical amillennial teaching. First, he claims to be

premillennial. Though the term "amillennial" may not have existed in

Spurgeon's day, he nonetheless understood the concept and the

teaching which would eventually become amillennialism. The

position was well-known and well-established in his day. His idea of

two resurrections separated by a millennial age is totally incompatible

with amillennial eschatology. Hoekema clarifies this as he comments,

"Amillennialists reject the common premillennial teaching that the

resurrection of believers and that of unbelievers will be separated by a

thousand years."

Spurgeon's belief that Israel would be re-gathered and have a

"native government again; there will again be the form of a body

politic; a state shall be incorporated, and a king shall reign,"

is foreign

to amillennial eschatology. His belief that Christians are to "expect a

reigning Christ on earth,"

is the opposite of amillennialists who see

Christ's reign as spiritual and/or heavenly. In fact, Spurgeon warned

that the earthly reign of Christ is "put so literally that we dare not

spiritualize it."

No amillennialist would agree with his statement, "I

conceive that the advent will be pre-millennial; that he will come first;

and then will come the millennium as the result of his personal reign

upon the earth."

The only conclusion can be that he was not amillennial in his

eschatology.

Griffiths, "Spurgeon's Eschatology" 230.

Hoekema, "Amillennialism" 182.

Spurgeon, "The Conversion and Restoration of the Jews" 10:426

Spurgeon, "Things to Come" 15:329.

Ibid.

Spurgeon, "Justification and Glory" 11:249.

The Millennial Position of Spurgeon 205

Spurgeon and Postmillennialism

It has been almost the "default" belief among Christians that

Spurgeon was postmillennial in his eschatology because of his close

association with English and American Puritan writers whom he

respected so deeply. However, as already shown, he clearly defined

and categorically rejected the postmillennial system: "Some think that

this descent of the Lord will be post-millennial—that is, after the

thousand years of his reign. I cannot think so. I conceive that the

advent will be pre-millennial. . . ."

Spurgeon clearly identified and summarily rejected the main

tenets of postmillennialism. Yet Iain Murray attempted to cast

Spurgeon as a postmillennialist. He wrote, "There was a fundamental

uncertainty in his mind [regarding eschatology],"

maintaining the

thesis that though Spurgeon made many statements affirming a

premillennial position, he also made statements contradictory to a

premillennial position. Murray admitted that he had "no ready

solution to the apparently contradictory features in Spurgeon's

thought on prophecy."

However, after rejecting G. Holden Pike's

theory that Spurgeon shifted his millennial beliefs after "he had

received a few scars in the conflict,"

Murray presented three general

explanations for Spurgeon's "contradictory features."

First, he postulated that in the initial phase of Spurgeon's

London ministry (1855-65) when there were "conversions in large

numbers, particularly after what may have been called the national

spiritual awakening in Ulster in 1859,"

he was more "inclined to

emphasize and preach the traditional Puritan hope [i.e.,

postmillennialism] which he had imbibed during his upbringing and

youth."

Second, he noted that Spurgeon "had a profound distrust of

Ibid.

Murray,

The Puritan Hope

263.

Ibid., 260.

Pike,

Spurgeon

5:96.

Murray,

The Puritan Hope

260.

Ibid.

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many pre-millennial dealers in prophecy."

These he identified

mainly with certain members of the Plymouth Brethren movement

who were always "trumpeting and vialing."

Third, Murray

interpreted some statements as indicating he "was deliberately open in

acknowledging the limitations of his understanding."

Murray's

evaluation of Spurgeon's prophetic views is not adequate on several

fronts.

Regarding his first and third points, Spurgeon's sermons show

that he consistently rejected postmillennialism over his entire ministry,

not simply during the time of the Down-Grade battle. "Jesus Only"

was preached at New Park Street in 1857.

Perhaps Spurgeon's

clearest statement, where he both identifies and rejects

postmillennialism categorically, occurs in his sermon "Justification and

Glory," preached in 1865.

The other sermon cited which rejects the

postmillennial approach came in 1889, "The Form of Godliness

without the Power."

To discern a "fundamental uncertainty" in

Spurgeon's thinking on this does injustice to the facts. It appears that

"unable to claim him as a postmillennialist, he [Murray] was unwilling

to concede him to be a pre-millennialist."

Ibid., 261.

Ibid.

Spurgeon,

Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit

45:373 ff.

Spurgeon,

Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit

11:241 ff.

Ibid., 35:301 ff.

Griffiths, "Spurgeon’s Eschatology" 226.

The Millennial Position of Spurgeon 207

Spurgeon and Dispensational Premillennialism

On several occasions in the

Sword and Trowel

Spurgeon spoke

against some of the practices of the Brethren, especially Darby, viewed

sometimes as the developer of dispensational premillennialism.

However, Spurgeon's main argument against the Brethren was their

ecclesiology and soteriology, some features of their eschatology being

only secondary issues.

Spurgeon's displeasure with "dispensationalism" was the

teaching that separated the church and Israel into separate people's in

God's program. In 1867 he wrote a long article outlining his objections

to the theology of the Brethren.

In that article he questioned

dispensational teaching: "Has it not been reserved to the Christian

dispensation to furnish the privileged company which, in their unity,

is called `the Church,' `the Bride of Jesus,' `the Lamb's wife?'"

objected to the idea that the believing Jews living prior to the first

advent were not part of the church. In the entire article Spurgeon

advocated "the one people of God," the continuity between the OT and

NT saints. The following reflects his objection to this emphasis of

dispensational teaching:

Difference of dispensation does not involve a difference of covenant;

and it is according to the covenant of grace that all spiritual blessings are

bestowed. So far as dispensations reach they indicate degrees of

knowledge, degrees of privilege, and variety in the ordinances of

worship. The unity of the faith is not affected by these, as we are taught

in the eleventh chapter of the epistle to the Hebrews. The faithful of

every age concur in looking for that one city, and that city is identically

the same with the New Jerusalem described in the Apocalypse as "a

Spurgeon was not against all Brethren. The Plymouth Brethren split between

John Nelson Darby and B. W. Newton, Darby and his followers being called the

"Exclusive Brethren" and Newton's group the "Open Brethren" or "Bethesda Group."

Spurgeon's differences with the "Exclusive" branch were larger, but he maintained

warm relations with many in the "Open" school, including B. W. Newton and George

Mueller. Even among the "Exclusive" group he respected the commentaries William

Kelly and C. H. Macintosh, though he usually differed with their conclusions.

Spurgeon, "There be some that Trouble You," in

The Sword and Trowel

3 (March

1867) 120.

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bride adorned for her husband."

100

He clarifies this point: "Surely, beloved brethren, you ought not to

stumble at the anachronism of comprising Abraham, David, and

others, in the fellowship of the Church!"

101

In this entire article,

Spurgeon says nothing about eschatological interpretations of the

Brethren, referring only to the violence done to the covenant by

dispensationalism.

Ryrie specifies, "The essence of dispensationalism, then, is the

distinction of Israel and the Church."

102

Spurgeon rejected any notion

that separated the people of God. In a clear reference to the teaching

of dispensationalists, he explained,

We have even heard it asserted that those who lived before the coming

of Christ do not belong to the church of God! . . . These who saw

Christ's day before it came, had a great difference as to what they knew,

and perhaps in the same measure a difference as to what they enjoyed

while on earth meditating upon Christ; but they were all washed in the

same blood, all redeemed with the same ransom price, and made

members of the same body. Israel in the covenant of grace is not natural

Israel, but all believers in all ages.

103

Without question, he saw the church and Israel united "spiritually."

Also, his

Treasury of David

viewed the church as the recipient of the

kingdom promises of God. His commentary on Matthew, though not

stating so specifically, strongly implied that the church would

experience the future tribulation, being preserved and protected by the

power of God.

Spurgeon's views on eschatology were not consistent with a

dispensational understanding of premillennialism.

100

Ibid.

101

Ibid., 121.

102

Charles C. Ryrie,

Dispensationalism Today

(Chicago: Moody, 1965) 47.

103

Charles H. Spurgeon, "Jesus Christ Immutable," in

The Metropolitan Tabernacle

Pulpit

15:8.

The Millennial Position of Spurgeon 209

Spurgeon and Historic Premillennialism

Key features of historic premillennialism are twofold: (1) the

kingdom will be the culmination of the church age and (2) the

"rapture" will follow the tribulation, with the church going through the

tribulation under the protection of God.

Spurgeon fits most consistently into the "historic or covenantal

premillennial" system. The reasons for this conclusion are the

following:

First, Spurgeon believed that the church would go through the

totality of the tribulation, but be protected.

The burning earth shall be the torch to light up the wedding procession;

the quivering of the heavens shall be, as it were, but as a dancing of the

feet of angels in those glorious festivities, and the booming and crashing

of the elements shall, somehow, only help to swell the outburst of praise

unto God the just and terrible, who is to our exceeding joy.

104

Tom Carter concluded that he "believed that the church would pass

through the tribulation before the second coming, this would make

him a premillennial post-tribulationalist."

105

Spurgeon believed the

second advent would precede the millennial kingdom: "I conceive

that the advent will be pre-millennial; that he will come first; and then

will come the millennium as the result of his personal reign upon

earth."

106

Second, Spurgeon felt that the millennial kingdom was the

culmination of God's program for the church: "The vehemence of your

desire for the destruction of evil and the setting up of the kingdom of

Christ will drive you to that grand hope of the church, and make you

cry out for its fulfillment."

107

Third, Spurgeon believed that there would be two separate

104

Ibid., 42:607.

105

Tom Carter,

Spurgeon at His Best

(Grand Rapids: Baker, 1988) 183-84.

106

Spurgeon, "Justification and Glory" 11:249.

107

Spurgeon, "The Double Come" 27:292.

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resurrections, one of the just and one of the unjust, separated by the

millennium:

If I read the Scriptures aright, there are to be two resurrections, and the

first will be the resurrection of the righteous; for it is written, `But the

rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were

finished.'

108

Fourth, Spurgeon taught that though the Jews would return to

their land and Messiah would reign over them, they would come to

faith in Christ just as the church and would be part of the church:

These who saw Christ's day before it came, had a great difference as to

what they knew, and perhaps in the same measure a difference as to

what they enjoyed while on earth meditating upon Christ; but they were

all washed in the same blood, all redeemed with the same ransom price,

and made members of the same body. Israel in the covenant of grace is

not natural Israel, but all believers in all ages.

109

CONCLUSION

Spurgeon was most certainly premillennial, but not

dispensational. Currently this has been a disputed issue, but during

his lifetime his position was well known and attested to. As

Drummond points out, "Nineteenth Century premillennialists loved to

get Spurgeon in their camp. In 1888 The Episcopal Recorder stated

that, `C. H. Spurgeon [is a] . . . pronounced premillennialist.'"

110

prophetic conferences of the 19th century, S. H. Kellog identified

Spurgeon as premillennial.

111

George Marsden called the religious

108

Spurgeon, "Resurrection of the Just and the Unjust" 13:241.

109

Charles H. Spurgeon, "Jesus Christ Immutable," in

The Metropolitan Tabernacle

Pulpit

15:8.

110

Drummond,

Spurgeon

650.

111

S. H. Kellog, "Christ’s Coming: Will It Be Premillennial," in

Premillennial Essays

of the Prophetic Conference Held in the Church of the Holy Trinity, New York City

Nathaniel West, ed. (reprint of Fleming H. Revell 1879 ed., Minneapolis: Bryant

Baptist, 1981) 74.

The Millennial Position of Spurgeon 211

periodical

The Christian Herald and Signs of the Times

"a premillennial

organ, featuring such contributors as A. J. Gordon, A. T. Pierson,

Samuel Kellog and England's Charles Spurgeon."

112

All the evidence demonstrates that Charles Haddon Spurgeon

most certainly held to a premillennial eschatology. Furthermore, his

millennial views coincided most closely with the "historic" or

"covenantal" view of premillennialism, a position he held firmly

throughout his entire ministry. The understanding of the

premillennial return of Christ was of such great import to Spurgeon

and his ministry that he stressed,

Brethren, no truth ought to be more frequently proclaimed, next to the

first coming of the Lord, than his second coming; and you cannot

thoroughly set forth all of the ends and bearings of the first advent if you

forget the second. At the Lord's Supper, there is no discerning the

Lord's body unless you discern his first coming; but there is no drinking

into his cup to its fulness, unless you hear him say, "Until I Come." You

must look forward, as well as backward. So it must be with all our

ministries; they must look to him on the cross and on the throne. We

must vividly realize that he, who has once come, is coming yet again, or

else our testimony will be marred, and one-sided. We shall make lame

work of preaching and teaching if we leave out either advent.

113

112

George Marsden,

Fundamentalism and the American Culture: The Shaping of

Twentieth-Century Evangelicalism, 1870-1925

(New York: Oxford University, 1980) 84.

113

Spurgeon, "He Cometh With Clouds," in

The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit

33:592-93.